Think Business and Design are Incompatible? Think Again

How do you define “design”? You might find your definition is outdated.

Growing up, we’re taught that business and the arts are two mutually
exclusive fields; that companies have corporate-minded leaders running the
show and creative designers look after the brand, website design, logo and
other marketing materials… But what if I told you the two positions could
be one?

Our increasingly interconnected world has many obvious effects on
businesses: social media, technological innovation and multilingualism are
now musts if you want to stay ahead of the curve. However, there’s a less
obvious consequence that you may not have considered: as our collective
attention span gets shorter, it’s more and more important that a product or
service is creative, unique, pulls us in and keeps us there.

But not just with advertising. What you’re selling needs to be innovative
in and of itself. Its design must be seamless and design should be present
in every step of the business development, from ideas to execution.

Javier Cañada, professor of Interaction Design at IE School of Human Sciences and Technology, says
this is because “in beauty there is craft and in craft there is the
perception of quality.” But design hasn’t always been linked with quality.
From the ‘60s to today, the field has undergone major changes led largely
in part by corporate executives.

Evolution of perception

The definition of design has evolved in waves. Up until the ‘60s, the
profession of “designer” was synonymous with “engineers,” those who
designed, say, a car or a kitchen appliance.

One of the first business leaders to understand the crucial link between
design and business was IBM’s CEO Thomas J. Watson, who said in the ‘60s
that “good design is good business.” IBM became one of the leading
technology companies in the world under Watson’s leadership. He designed
exhibits, engaged in storytelling, and explained what computers can do in
layman’s terms. He used design to help the company reach a broader audience
and therefore become a global force. But Watson, like many others,
understood design as how things are built.

Other examples, Cañada notes, include the appliance company Brown, which
invested in design and as a result, positioned itself as the leading
appliance company. Or Porsche, he tells us, whose first model was designed
in a design school. Such “design” schools were common, especially in
Germany, although today we might call them engineering schools.

With the cultural movement of the ‘60s and early ‘70s, that perception
started to change. The field of design moved toward self-expression and the
arts. It became less about functionality and more about aesthetics.

However, moving into the ‘80s and ‘90s, when the rise of computers was
taking the world by storm, there was at first a return to functionality,
which came at the expense of beauty. The world of technology, which would
come to penetrate nearly every other field, was being revolutionized and
the most important thing was that it worked.

That is, until one Steve Jobs came on the scene. According to Cañada, Apple
changed everything, broadening the field of design and making it more
all-encompassing. Design became crucial in any product or service,
especially after the launch of the iPhone in 2007.

Loyal customers are not only drawn to the functionality, but—knowingly or
unknowingly—to the interface, the font, the material of the phone, the
advertisements…

Evolve or die

With this change, spearheaded by Apple, companies are rethinking their
strategy and hiring professionals with backgrounds in both business and
design. Universities are responding to this demand with innovative programs
and courses.

The course Javier teaches is part of the
Master in Visual and Digital Media at
IE School of Human Sciences and Technology, which is among the first master programs with a distinctly business +
design approach. The program bridges the gap between creative practice and
business management by preparing students to conceive, develop, execute,
manage, and evaluate all kinds of creative visual media projects from start
to finish. In other words, it’s a way for creative young professionals to
channel their talent and turn it into successful businesses.

This new need for design-focused companies makes room for a generation of
professionals well-equipped to create products and services that are
innovative and memorable. Perhaps it’s time to rethink your definition of
“design.”

Javier Cañada
is a professor within the Master in Visual and Digital Media
at IE School of Human Sciences and Technology.
Grounded in the science of human behavior, powered by communication,
and enabled by data and technology, graduates from this school are able
to excel at jobs that require disruptive thinking and innovation.

The Master in Visual and Digital Media prepares
students to deal with complex situations through a mix of conceptual,
creative, and managerial skills. Learn more here
or
register here to receive a brochure and more information.

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